Ball Response and Traction of Skinned Infields Amended with Calcine Clay at Varying Soil Moisture Contents

The skinned portions of baseball and softball infields vary widely with respect to soil texture, applied amendments and conditioners, and water management. No studies have been reported that quantify the effects of these varying construction and maintenance practices on the playability of the skinned portions of infields. In Connecticut, USA, skinned infield plots were constructed from five different soils (silt loam, loam, coarse sandy loam, loamy sand, loamy coarse sand) and amended with four rates of calcined clay (0, 4.9, 9.8, 19.6 kg m–2) to determine the effects on surface hardness, traction, and ball-to-surface friction (static and dynamic) at varying soil moisture contents (10, 14, and 18%). Bulk density, saturated hydraulic conductivity, and shear strength of the different soil–calcined clay rate combinations were determined. Increasing the rate of calcined clay decreased bulk density and shear strengths, and increased saturated hydraulic conductivity. Surface hardness increased more with coarse-textured soils and increasing calcined clay rate, but decreased more with fine-textured soils and increasing soil moisture. Increasing the calcined clay rate resulted in decreases in ball-to-surface static friction across all soils and decreased dynamic friction with the fine-textured soils. Increases in soil moisture increased friction in all soils. The fine-textured soils had greater traction than the sandy soils, but no consistent calcined clay or moisture effects on traction were observed. Shear strength of the soils was highly correlated with traction and friction. The results suggest that differences in skinned infield soils are quantifiable, which could lead to the development of playing surface standards.

Analysis of Synthetic Diamond Wafer Interferograms Using a Parallelized Simulated Annealing Algorithm

Diamonds are known for both their beauty and their durability. Jefferson National Lab in Newport News, VA has found a way to utilize the diamond's strength to view the beauty of the inside of the atomic nucleus with the hopes of finding exotic forms of matter. By firing very fast electrons at a diamond sheet no thicker than a human hair, high energy particles of light known as photons are produced with a high degree of polarization that can illuminate the constituents of the nucleus known as quarks. The University of Connecticut Nuclear Physics group has responsibility for crafting these extremely thin, high quality diamond wafers. These wafers must be cut from larger stones that are about the size of a human finger, and then carefully machined down to the final thickness. The thinning of these diamonds is extremely challenging, as the diamond's greatest strength also becomes its greatest weakness. The Connecticut Nuclear Physics group has developed a novel technique to assist industrial partners in assessing the quality of the final machining steps, using a technique based on laser interferometry. The images of the diamond surface produced by the interferometer encode the thickness and shape of the diamond surface in a complex way that requires detailed analysis to extract. We have developed a novel software application to analyze these images based on the method of simulated annealing. Being able to image the surface of these diamonds without requiring costly X-ray diffraction measurements allows rapid feedback to the industrial partners as they refine their thinning techniques. Thus, by utilizing a material found to be beautiful by many, the beauty of nature can be brought more clearly into view.